• This was due to being created "in his [God's] own image."

• This made him clearly distinct from the animals.

"Man became a living soul" after God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7).

• Man, as created, had no concept of right or wrong.

• Man lived in a state of absolute innocence


• Man did what was right without making decisions to do it or knowing he was making them.
• Man natural done right.

Adam and Sin

• God provided man with a test in the Garden.

• "The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:15-17).

• Obeying God meant continued fellowship with Him.

• Disobeying meant separation from God and death.

• The serpent challenged Eve to rethink her acceptance of God's command to Adam.

• Satan lied about God's Word and said, "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4, 5).

• Eve listened to satan and "saw that the tree was good for food, and . . . took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her" (v. 6).

• "And he [Adam] did eat." It is accepted that he ate knowingly and willingly.

• Adam, in fear and despair, attempted to avoid admitting his sin by blaming Eve (v. 12).

• Eve, too, tried to excuse herself: "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (v. 13).

• Eve and all women since were punished. God had "greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (Gen. 3:16).

• For Adam and all men since then, God said they would have to toil and sweat for "bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (v. 19).

• Paradise was lost, and man had experienced good and evil. God "sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground" (v. 23).

• Sin creates a barrier between God and man. "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you" (Isa. 59:2).

• This barrier does not leave man unaccountable. God is just and must punish disobedience. "He that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done" (Col. 3:25; cf. Matt. 16:27; 25:46; John 5:29; Rom. 2:6; II Cor. 5:10; I Peter 1:17).

• Therefore, man was driven out of the Garden of Eden into a world that increasingly became dominated by evil. Man was now alienated from his Maker (Gen. 3:23, 24).

Note: Sin is an act or attitude of "missing the mark," that is, of falling short of God's standard.

All Men Have Sinned

• Adam's sin soon showed up in his all of his natural-born descendants.

• "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (Gen. 6:5, 11, 12; cf. 6:13).

• "by man came death . . . in Adam all die" (I Cor. 15:21, 22).

• Men are "by nature the children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3), "alienated and enemies in [their] mind by wicked works" (Col. 1:21).

• Natural man is described as a son of the wicked one (Matt. 13:38), with the devil as a father (John 8:44).

• The natural man follows satan and is ruled by him (John 12:31; Acts 26:18; Eph. 2:2).

• Satan's rule is described as "the power of darkness" (Col. 1:13). He has "blinded the minds of them which believe not" (II Cor. 4:4).

• To this day, whoever commits sin is of the devil (I John 3:8).

• "There is no man that sinneth not" (I Kings 8:46; cf. Rom. 3:9; Ps. 14:3).

• "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Eccl. 7:20).

• "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way" (Isa. 53:6).

• All men "have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

• "None that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:10-18).

• Paul is using a Hebrew poetic extravagant idiom wrote by David (Ps. 14) to emphasize all are under sin.

• Other scriptures show it is not to be taken "slavish literal" (see Job 1:1; 2 Chron. 11:16; Lam. 3:25, etc).

• Romans 1:18-32 portrays an even bleaker picture of the degeneracy of man.

• Not all natural man exhibit such extreme evil traits.

• Not all men are Hitlers or Stalins.

The Consequence of Sin

• Man must suffer the consequences of his sin. Man's sin provokes the wrath of God (1:18).

• Natural man is judged and punished according to his works (Matt. 16:27; John 5:29; Rom. 2:8, 9; Col. 3:25; Rev. 20:12-15).

• The Lord will take "vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (II Thess. 1:8, 9).

• God told Adam, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17).

• The curse upon them brought physical death: "unto dust shall thou return" (3:19).

• Death was not limited to our first parents: "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12; cf. v. 19).

• The general principle is that "the wages of sin is death" (6:23).

• This death is not only physical or biological, it is also spiritual, bringing eternal separation from God.

All men are able to response to the good news

• Grace enables all people to response to the good news brought by Jesus Christ.

• Every person is called "through the gospel" (II Thess. 2:14), and through the work of the Holy Spirit can repent.

• They can choose and make the right choice without being forced to by God.

• God's grace is freely available but men can resist it; man has a free choice.

• Sin does darken their minds and reasoning power (Eph. 4:18; 2:3).

• "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven . . . what can be known about God is plain to them, because God had shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. . . . they knew God" (Rom. 1:18-21).

• Natural man can perceive truth God existence--"it is plain to all."
• God's wrath, the reaction of His holiness and righteousness to sin, "is revealed from heaven."
• God's creation shows "invisible nature" and "eternal power."
• God is "clearly perceived" through man's careful thought.
• From the above it is clear man rational comprehension can be correct, therefore "they knew God" and the Just God can condemn man.

• Men are responsible to walk not in darkness but in the light.
• God draws all men to Himself through Christ.

• "If we say we have fellowship with him [Christ] while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:7).

• Deadness in sin is an ethical thing.

• To believe "you were dead in your transgressions and sins" (Eph. 2:1) does not mean can cannot understand apologetics, preaching, the Word.

• Natural man can correctly interpret natural revelation in the sense of knowing there is God.

• But our sin nature affects our reasoning ability; we natural want to disobey God because of our association with satan.

Scripture evidence of man's reasoning and judgmental abilities

• Man can use his reasoning power to know there is a God.

• All men know there is a God.

• Only a few try to deny His existence.
• Man can resist and reject the Gospel through unbelief.

• The key verse to Solomon's Book of Proverbs is: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Prov. 1:7).

• The "simple one" become scoffers because "they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD" (Prov. 1:29).
• So men must have knowledge of God in order to fear Him before they can become His children.

• "And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation" (Luke 1:50).

• The natural man can develop "fear" before receiving mercy and grace.

• When Jesus saw the mother weeping at the lost of her only son, He raise him from the dead. "Fear seized them all; : and they glorified God, saying, 'A great prophet has arisen among us!' and 'God has visited his people!" (Luke 7:16).

• Jesus spoke, "I tell you, my friend, do not fear those who kill the body . . . I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yea, I tell you, fear him" (Luke 12:4-5).

• Cornelius, a gentile centurion, was "a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God" (Acts 10:2).

• "Men of Israel, and you that fear God, listen. . . .Those among you that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation" (Acts 13:6, 26).

• In summary, men respond to fear before knowledge of God and receiving salvation.

• We must acknowledge too that some who are so wayward and deep in sin that they have "no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:18).

• "Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely" (Prov. 28:5).

• "O Lord, in distress they sought thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them" (Isa. 26:16).

• As Isaiah wrote, men should:

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord,
and he will have mercy on him." (Isa. 55:6-7)

• "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Matt. 6:33; cf. Luke 12:31).

• "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Matt. 7:7-8).

• Men are told to seek God; they must use their mines to know to "seek."

• "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Luke 13:24).

• "He made from one every nation of men to live . . . that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26, 27).

• "Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Heb. 11:6).

• "You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:14, 16).

• Sinners can be brought to Christ by the Christians' light, therefore sinners can use their reasoning abilities to find Christ.

• Jesus told the disciples, "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say" (Luke 12:11-12)

• Jesus told the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! . . . And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:26-27).

• In the Pentecost Sermon (Acts 2:14-39) Peter argued:

• "Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22).
• "Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" (v. 23).
• This was according to David's promise (vv. 2:25-36).

• Peter addressed the people from Solomon's portico: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this [causing the cripple to walk], or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?" (Acts 3:12).

• "The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied . . . [you] killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses" (vv. 13-16).
• "What God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled" (v. 18).
• "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the present of the Lord" (v. 19).
• "God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness" (v. 20).

• "Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today . . . be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead . . . there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which to be saved'" (Acts 4:8-12).

• Before the council, "Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.' The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things" (Acts 5:29-32).

• "Stephen said: 'Brethren and fathers, hear me" (Acts 7:2)

• He spoke of Abraham, the patriarchs, and Moses (Acts 7:2-50).
• And he spoke, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it" (vv. 51-53).

• To "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man . . . Peter opened his mouth and said . . . . He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:22, 34, 42-43).

• At Antioch, "Paul stood up, and motioning with his hands said" 'Men of Israel, and you that fear God, listen" (Acts 13:2-3).

• He spoke of the fathers, Canaan, David and "of this man's posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised" (v. 23).
• And of John the Baptist, and "Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning him. . . . But God raised him from the dead. . . . And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus" (vv 26-33).

• At Lystra a cripple man was healed, "He listened to Paul speaking," and the people tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:8-18).

• "Men, why are you doing this? We also are men, of the like nature with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without a witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness" (vv. 15-18).

• "So Paul standing in the middle of the Areopagus said: 'Men of the Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. . . .What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. . . . The time of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:22-31).

• "Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks he argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead" (Acts 17:2-3).

• At Corinth Paul "argued in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks" (Acts 18:4).

• At Ephesus Paul "entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8).

• From the steps of the Roman barracks Paul spoke to the Jews, "Brethren and fathers, hear the defense which I now make before you" (Acts 22:1).

• "you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard" (v. 15).

• "I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly" (Acts 24:4).

• "Paul replied: 'Realizing that for many years you have been judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense" (Acts 24:10-11).

• Before Festus, "Paul said in his defense" (Acts 25:8).

• "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended at all" (v. 8).
• "To the Jews I have done no wrong" (v. 10).

• Before Agrippa, "Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense" (Acts 26:2).

• "I stand here on trail for the hope in the promise made by God to our fathers" (v. 6).
• "I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so" (v. 9).
• On the road to Damascus "I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me . . . I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It hurts to kick against the goals.' And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness" (vv. 12-16).
• "I send you to open their [Gentiles] eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (vv. 17-18).

• "To this day I have the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:22-23).

• "As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, 'Paul, you are mad; your great learning is tuning you mad.' But Paul said, 'I am not made, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. For the king knows about these things, and to him I stand freely; for I am persuaded that none of these things escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.' And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time you think, to make me a Christian!' And Paul said, "Whether sort or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am'" (Acts 26:24:29).

• God uses preaching to make His appeal to men, so Paul wrote to the Corinthians Paul wrote:
  • "knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor. 5:10).
  • "So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God"(2 Cor. 5:20).

• God initiates the "call" through preaching and preaching the Gospel.
  • Man does not on his own initiative find God.
  • God has revealed Himself through Christ and the word.
  • But men must respond to God's call; he can accept or reject it.

• In summary, if the Fall destroyed man's rational thinking abilities, the unbeliever could never have reason to come to faith because they could never understand the Word.

• Man is responsible for the truth he receives through the Bible.
  • "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . . The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He [Christ] was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:4, 5, 9-11).
  • "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Rom 1:20).
  • Thus man is responsible to the light he has and can perceive somethings correctly.
  • The fall did not destroy man's ability to uses the laws of inductive inference, logic, law of contradiction, etc.
  • Yet man must have God's initiation through Christ and the Holy Spirit to come to the Father.
  • Man's depravity does not mean he no longer has the image of God in him. He may be perverted and lives independent of God, but the evidence of God's creation is still seen, even thought it may be seen only faintly to him.

  Preaching the Gospel and Word brings faith.

• Preaching presumes natural man can comprehend the gospel message and recognize his obligations to response.

• Jesus told His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

• "The same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, 'every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 'But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of who they have never heard? . . . So faith comes from what is heard, and what is hear comes by the preaching of Christ" (Rom. 10:12-14, 17).

• "I will . . . win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and by deed . . . I have fully preach the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 15:18, 19).

• "We give thanks always for you all . . . for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction . . . you received the word" (I Thess. 1:2, 4-6).

• "We had courage in God to declare to you the gospel" (I Thess. 2:2, cf. v. 8).
• "You received the word of God which you heard from us" (I Thess. 2:13).

• "He [God] called you [Thessalonians] through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thess. 2:14).

• God called through the gospel, that is, through means of Gospel preaching.

• "Now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you" (I Pet. 1:12).

• The above makes it clear that "every one who call" will be saved and men believe because of hearing the Good News. Language and man thinking brings truth which the sinner can understand and follow.

• If this was not true, the Word (i.e, the Bible) could not provide the seed and bread for eternal life.

• The above passage from Isaiah and many others, God invites men to come to Him.

• My word that goes out from my mouth:
  It will not return to me empty.
  but will accomplish what I desire
  and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Is. 55:11).

• "When he [Holy Spirit] will convince the world of sin" (John 16:8)

• There is emphasis on Jesus bringing conviction, so it is not the sole work the Holy Spirit.

• Jesus spoke "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32).
• "Lord opened her [Lydia in Philippi] heart to give heed to what was said by Paul" (Acts 16:14).

• The Holy Spirit empowers preaching.

• "I [Paul] will . . . win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and by deed, by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 15:18, 19).

• Paul receives power in his preaching from the Holy Spirit.

Men can respond to God's initiation through signs and preaching.

• Pharaoh's own magicians told him the plagues were "the finger of God" (Ex. 8:19).

• and the Egyptian leaders responded to the plagues after the first born were smoted, saying to Moses, "Go, serve the Lord, as you said" (12:31).

• "And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians" (v. 31).

• Moses told the people not to forget, "take heed, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen" (Deut. 4:9, 34).

• When John asked Jesus if He was the Christ, He said, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up" (Matt. 11:4-5).

Peter and the others did not follow "cleverly devised myths:"

• At the Transfiguration,. Peter, James and John "were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (II Pet. 1:16).

• They heard "the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased,' we hear this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain" (vv. 17, 18; cf. Matt. 17:18).

• Jesus' raising Lazarus "on account of the people standing by, that they may believer that thou didst send me" (John 11:42). The people responded to the evidence, they "had seen what he did, believed in" (v. 45).

• Peter preaching that "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mightily works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know (Acts 2:22).

• Jesus told the two on the road to Emmaus, "'why are your troubled, and why do questionings rise in your heart?' See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see me" (Luke 24:39).

• Thomas did not believe that the other disciples had seem the Lord, and said, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the marks of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." Later Jesus told Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." Thomas, seeing the evidence, responded "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:25, 27, 28).

• Man can do this because of the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in their lives.

• Man's seeing the work of Christ and responding to the Holy Spirit is not the result of man doing something to earn salvation. Man's response is an act of repentance and faith made possible by Christ.

• God would have to force some to be saved

• He may use gentle persuasion but does not work against a person's will.

• and the example of the apostolic preaching and outreach to unbelievers.

Sovereignty of God, and man's freedom and responsibility

• "As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

• When Pharaoh confronted Moses he hardened his own heart (Ex. 8:15, 32; 9:14).

• This resulted in his heart "was hardened" (Ex. 7:14, 22; 8:19; 9:7, 25).

• and "God hardened" it (7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20; 14:4, 8).

• These are three describe the same fact.
• But God used Pharaoh's action to "for this purpose have I let you live, to show you my power, so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth."
1. Example of the Assyrians:
   • God used Assyria's desire for spoil and plunder and power, "to tread them [Israel] down like the mire of the streets." Yet Assyria did this on their own; "he [Assyria] does not so intend, and his mind does not so think; but it is in his mind to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few" (Isa. 10:7)

   • They worked out God's anger to carry out His purpose for Israel: "the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem" (v. 12).

2. These examples do not shown God's arbitrary sovereignty, but "the law of habit--the law that a good man grows better and a bad man worse through his right or wrong choice--and this is a law of God has imposed on man" (C. Ryder Smith, Bible Doctrine of Man, pp. 25-27).

   
   

   What About:

3. "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God" (Rom. 3:11).
   • Morally none are righteous.
   • God takes the initiative and seeks all.

   • Paul used this Scripture to show all men are have sinned, and not to show God needs to use His sovereign power to save man.

4. "The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14)*****.
   • "A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (NASV).
   • They do not receive or understand the gifts of the Spirit.
   • This does not mean they cannot understand the preaching of the Gospel.

5. But are men "totally" depraved?
   • Jesus "marveled because of their unbelief" (Mk. 6:6). Would He have marveled if He thought they were totally depraved?
   • Peter preached "Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22), and "testified with many others words and exhorted them, saying, 'Save yourselves from this crooked generation'" (Acts 2:40). Would he have preached this if the unbelieving hearers could not evaluate the evidence and believe?
   • "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:42).
   • "Unregenerate" Cornelius sought God (Acts 10:1-4, 22).
   • If totally depraved, why do "evil men and impostors . . . go on from bad to worse" (II Tim. 3:13)?

6. Man's total loss of reasoning ability is not taught in Scripture.

   
   

   2. Election
   Corporate election of both Jews and Gentiles

   Chosen, elect, election in the New Testament

7. Chosen and elect comes from the Greek verb that means "to choose."

8. There are many references to elect, election, chosen in the Scriptures.
   • "Jesus Christ . . . chose us . . . He destined us to be his sons" (Eph. 1:3-6).
   • God has "chosen you; for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (I Thess. 1:4).
   • "God chose you" (II Thess. 2:13).
   • Jesus referred to "the sake of the elect" (Matt. 24:22; cf. v. 24).
   • "They will gather his elect" (Matt. 24:51).
   • "Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night" (Luke 18:7).
   • "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?" (Rom. 8:33).
   • "To further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth" (Titus 1:1).
   • "Be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall" (II Pet. 1:10).
   • "Chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 1:1).
   • Paul uses the term predestined in Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:5, 12; etc.

   God elects Jesus Christ

9. Jesus is the One "spoken [of] by the prophet Isaiah: 'Behold, my servant whom I have chosen'" (Matt. 12:18; cf. Isa. 42:1-7).
   • "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isa. 42:1, 2)
   • "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth . . . the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you" (Isa. 49:6, 7).
   • Christ "was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of times for your sakes . . . . that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious" (I Pet. 1:20; 2:4).

10. This is an example of God's election to service.

    God's electing love and grace

11. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

12. "We love, because he first loved us" (I John 4:19).

13. "God showed his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).
    • Election is a way to ascribe "to God the glory of salvation of each Christian in that the believer's choice of Christ is grounded eternally in the love and goodness of God" (Wenger, Introduction to Theology, p. 268).

14. You who reject the Gospel "thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life" (Acts 13:46).

    
    

    • "Whosoever" will can be saved. "The Bible is . . . entirely clear that if men are lost they alone are responsible" (Wenger, Introduction to Theology, p. 268).

Election is corporate; God first chose Israel, then the Gentiles

Corporate election is taught in Ephesians

• "that we should be holy and blameless before him" (v. 4).

• "He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ" (v. 5).

• "He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will" (v. 9).

• First, the general plan is to show "He [God] set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth" (2:9, 10).

• To the Gentile Christian, Paul writes, "you he made alive, when you were dead" (2:1).

• "Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh" (v. 4).

• God "loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses" (vv. 4, 5).

• "remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh" (v. 11).

• "you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ" (v. 13).

• "made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall" (v. 14).

• "by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of two . . . reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross" (vv. 15, 16).

• "You who were once far off" (v. 17).

• "we both have access in One Spirit to the Father" (v. 18).

• "so you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints" (v. 19).

• "in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God" (v. 22).

• "on behalf of you Gentiles" (3:1).

• In summary, "us" and "we" are the believing Jews and Gentiles, who were made one with "you," the believing Gentiles whi came under the New Covenant.

• "the mystery was made known to me [Paul] by revelation" (3:3).

• "the mystery of Christ" (v. 4).

• "how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body" (v. 6).

• Paul's "insight into the mystery of Christ, who were not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (3:4-6).

• "This is a great mystery, and I take it to mean Christ and the church" (5:32).

• "to preach to the Gentiles . . . to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God" (v. 9).

• "Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages, but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations" (Rom. 16:25, 26).

• "to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now manifest to his saints" (Col. 1:25, 28).

• "The grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 1:9, 10).

• "In whom also we [Jews and Gentiles, God's people] have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ" (Eph. 1:11, 12).

• We are predestinated for God's glorification.

On Romans 9

• This rejection does not mean "the word of God had failed" (Rom. 9:6).

• Through God's workings Issac's second born, Jacob, obtained the birthright and his father's blessing (Gen. 25:29-34; ch. 27).

• But any who wished could enter the covenant. God said to Abraham, "I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant" (Gen. 17:7).

• Only by unbelief would any be cut off. "Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh . . . shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant" (Gen. 17:14).

• Before Jacob and Esau were born, God through His election determined to give the nation of Israel a higher place in fulfilling the promise than the nation of Edom.

• Paul is speaking of God's election of Jacob's families and not of him individuality to salvation.

• Paul is not writing about of eternal salvation of Jacob and Esau but of the greater prominence of Jacob (i.e. Israel), "Paul does not say: 'The elder will be saved, while the younger will be damned'; he says, 'The elder will serve the younger' (v. 12)" (Wenger, pp. 269, 270).

• Just as the eleven other brothers of Judah were not excluded, neither Ishmael or Esau was excluded from the covenant of promise.
• "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exod. 3:6, 15; Matt. 22:32) means these three were representative bearers of the covenant of promise, and them alone. It does not mean they were the only ones given eternal life.
• "The children of the promise are reckoned as descendants" (Rom. 9:8), are as the number of stars (Gen 15:5), and will share in the covenant. This means none are excluded, except as we saw earlier, through their own unbelief (Gen. 17:14). This does not mean all "the children of the flesh" are included.

• Hate should be contrasted with love. See Gen. 29:30, 31; Deut. 21:15-17; Prov. 13:24.
  • In Greek "hated" carries the meaning of secondary place. Compare Paul's statement with Christ's found in Luke 14:26, that of, singlemined loyalty, prefer less, love less.

• The promise of grace is available to all who enter as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did, that is, by faith.
  • "Now we [Christians], brethren, like Isaac, are the children of promise" (Gal. 4:28) because of our faith.

• "Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!" (Rom. 9:14).
  • God was not unjust in choosing Jacob as a patriarch.
  • "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy." Why by mercy? "So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but on God's mercy " (vv. 15, 16). The choice of Jacob removes all influence of works.
  • It was not done to just single out one family. It was done to single out a family to bring a blessing to ALL.

• What about Pharaoh? "For the scripture says to Pharaoh, 'I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you'" (9:17).
  • Notice here that Paul deals with Pharaoh's actions as a governmental leader and reveals how he was used to show God's power. These verses do not say anything about his election to eternal damnation.
  • Secondly, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. The Exodus account does state at the beginning that the Lord "will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go" (Ex. 4:21). At first glance this appears to be a prophecy that God would force Pharaoh as a puppet to sin against the people. But this is not the case.
  • "The Hebrew work translated "hardened" could be translated "heavy." See Exodus 17:12 ("Moses' hands were heavy," KJV); I King 12:10 ("Your father made your yoke heavy"); Isaiah 1:4 ("Ah, a sinful nation, a people laden [i.e., heavy] with iniquity").
  • "On the whole, therefore, we are compelled to see that Pharaoh's heart was left by God simply in its natural case,--heavy with iniquity" (Newell, Romans).

• The reason Pharaoh's heart was hardened is evident from his first encounter with Moses. Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go" (Ex. 5:2). Pharaoh would not listen and did things that hardened his own heart: "He hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them" (8:15; cf. v. 32). When a person is told to do something and refuses to do it after repeated requests, his heart becomes hardened even when he is forced to change his mind.

• The Scriptures also state that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex. 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10). The way God hardened Pharaoh's heart was to allow him to choose evil and reap the fruits of his actions. God gave Pharaoh signs, and when he chose not to believe and replied with cruel and oppressive acts, he started down a path that hardened his heart.

• The conclusion Paul draws from Pharaoh is that God has "mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth" (Rom. 9:18). Pharaoh could not claim God's mercy because of the things he had done. Both Pharaoh and Moses were used by God to bring about His plan of redemption as He determined.

• Man cannot dictate to or question God.
  • "Will what is molded say to the potter, 'Why have you made me?'" (v. 20).
  • Don't push this analogy; man is more that clay. Man is an intellectual being with his own will.
  • The point is man should not question God and say, "Who can resist his will?" (v. 19).
  • "What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction, [see *** below] in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?" (9:22-24).

    *** Lenski writes: "Nor does he call them merely 'the vessels of wrath' (no article) but adds the perfect participle (with its present implications): 'having been fitted for destruction.' Which means that for a long time they have already been ripe for their doom" (Interpretation of Romans).

  • God was patient with Pharaoh, Judah, etc. Pharaoh would not heed Moses' call, nor would Judah who rejected Christ and the call to repent, etc.
  • "The only way to interpret Romans 9 in harmony with the rest of Scripture is to regard the 'vessels of wrath' as those who cling to sin and reject the Gospel, while the 'vessels of mercy' are those whom God has loved . . . true believers on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Wenger, p. 270).
  • God used the vessels of mercy He "has prepared beforehand for glory, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles" (vv. 23, 24). Both groups now are "corporate" elected in Christ.

  
  

  The vessels of mercy and corporate election in Romans 9

• "Even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles" (9:13).

Another passage

• This speaks of the means God used: through sanctification and belief.

Commands to preach to all men implies salvation is available to all

God's initiative and man's response

• "They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scripture daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:10).

• "You search the scriptures; because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life" (John 5:39, 40).

• "To all who received him [Christ], he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:12).

• "I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe" (John 8:24).

• "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light" (John 12:36).

• After Jesus clearly explained His mission to the disciples, He asked, "Do you believe?" (John 16:31).

• "The righteousness of God has been manifested . . . The righteousness of God [is available] through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe" (Rom. 3:22).

• Some will not believe: "who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God" (John 5:44).

• "But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ" (Rom 10:14, 17, 16).

• "For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 15:18-19).

• "my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (I Cor 2:4).

• "for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake" (I Thess. 1:5)

• "It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look" (I Pet 1:12).

• Stephen said, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51).

• "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness" (Mark 5:39) implies resisting His work.

• "The man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:29).

• Paul knew he could resist God and was careful to "not nullify the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21).

• From the above we see man can resist the Holy Spirit and nullify God's grace. God is sovereign and has given man the freedom to do this.

What About:

• This does not deal with how one comes to "ask."

• One must "ask" God for "good things." There is nothing here about God giving without the unbeliever asking.

• This unbelieving Jew came to Jesus though his reasoning power only after seeing Jesus' signs and hearing Him teach. No man on his own reasoned Jesus was a Great Teacher.

• This is right, but Jesus later explained, "When I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (12:32).

• "And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convince the world of its sin" (John 16:8).

• See the rest of the sentence. This refers to the twelve being appointed apostles: "and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit."

• See who Jesus is speaking to in the wider context: 13:36; 14:8; 16:29; 18:1.

• Let's first review this verse in the immediate context.
  • The rulers of the synagogue in Antioch asked Paul to give a "word of exhortation for the people"(Acts 13:15). Paul responded with a brief review of Israel's history, stating that "God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised" (v. 13). Paul spoke of Jesus' condemnation, death, and resurrection (vv. 27-30).

  • The people begged Paul to speak more about this on the next Sabbath, and he did. "The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God" (v. 43).

  • At this meeting "the Jews saw the multitudes [the Gentiles accepting the Gospel], they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, and reviled him" ["contradicting and blaspheming," KJV] (v. 45).

  • Paul told the Jews, "Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles" (v. 46).

  • Paul then cited Israel 49:6 to the Jews: "I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth" (v. 47).

  • "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God" (v. 48).

• The rest of this verse is ambiguous.
  • An interlinear shows the Greek word order: "As many as believed had been appointed to eternal life" (The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament, Tyndale House).

  • The two verbal translations are:
  * In the passive voice: "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (RSV) or
  * In middle voice: "As many as had set themselves for eternal life became believers" or
  "as many as were disposed to eternal life believed."
  • Note: The above passive is influenced by Jerome changing the Greek term tasso translated in the old Latin as destinati or ordinati to praordinati, that is, predestination-ordained in English "to make the coming to faith and salvation the product of a predestinatory eternal degree" (Lenski). Augustine and the Western Church was influenced by this change. The Greek Orthodox Church, whose mother tongue was Greek, had no problem with the old Latin and did not change their understanding of this verse.
  • In summary, the grammar is ambiguous.

• Need to interpret in context.

  The Jews made their own decision to--as Paul said, "contradicting and blaspheming" (KJV v. 45) and "you thrust it [the Word of God; the Gospel message] from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life" (v. 46)-- seal their own fate unless they repent. "If they abide not still in unbelief," then could God could graft them in again" (Rom. 11:23).

  The Gentiles, hearing the word, also made their own decision to believe the Good News.

• "Were ordained to" is not the best translation of tetagmenoi. Tetagmenoi is both the middle voice and passive voice participle of tasso.

• Means "to arrange in an orderly manner, i.e., assign or dispose (to a certain person or lot):--addict, appoint, determine, ordain, set" (Strong).
• Adam Clarke emphasizes the verb tasso "includes no idea of pre-ordination or pre-destination of any kind. . . . [it] signifies to place, set, order, appoint, dispose; hence it has been considered here as implying the disposition or readiness of mind of several persons in the congregation, such as the religious proselytes mentioned in ver. 43, who possessed the reverse of the "disposition of those Jews who spake against those things, contradicting and blaspheming, ver. 45. . . . in this good state and order of mind, believed."
• Robertson writes: "There is no evidence that Luke had in mind absolutum decretum of personal salvation. Paul had showed that God's plan extended to and included Gentiles. Certainly the Spirit of God does move upon the human heart to which some respond, as here, while others push him away" (Acts, p. 200).

• As Alford writes: "The meaning of this word disposed must be determined by the context. The Jews had judged themselves unworthy of eternal life: the Gentiles, as many as were disposed to eternal life, believed. By whom so disposed, is not here declared: nor need the word be in this place further particularized. We know, that it is God who worketh in us the will to believe, and that the preparation of the heart is of him: but to find in this text pre-ordination to life asserted, is to force both word and the context to a meaning which they do not contain."

• Shank writes: "Rotherham's rendering 'had become disposed' is fully warranted. Citing examples, Bloomfield asserts (as do others) that the passive voice of tasso often conveys the middle sense and that the passive does not neccessarily suppose an over-ruling impulse from without. The expression tassesthai may here have the sense it sometimes bears, 'to be thoroughly disposed for, or purposed for, bent on,' like the similar one euyhetos einat eis, to be fitly disposed for."

• Bartlet writes: "ordained to eternal life. A bad rendering, as suggesting that human choice had no real part in such belief. The idea is simply that of preparedness of heart, without any thought as to how this came about. This is clear from the account of the Jews' unreadiness: they 'judged themselves unworthy' (in the same sense of Matt. xxii:8, 'The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy'-- i.e. as making light of it, verse 5). Thus all is conceived to turn ultimately on man's choice. Like the Pharisee in Luke vii:30, the Jews 'rejected for themselves the counsel of God.' No divine 'decree' ordained the results either way. The best rendering then would be, 'were (found) disposed to eternal life, which preserves the exact shade of the verb ('to set in order, arrange, dispose' [Thayer]) and just that degree of ambiguity which belongs to the original" (J. Vernon Barrtlet, The New Century Bible: The Acts).

• Need to interpret in light of God's attributes, i.e., holiness and love, and other Scriptures.
  • Would a holy and loving God ordain some to eternal life and leave others go to hell? NO!

• Should translate: "As many as had set themselves for eternal life became believers" or
  "As many as believed had been appointed to eternal life."

• "I heard a voice saying to me . . . 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 16:14).

• Jesus said, "I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness" to me (v. 16).

• Answer: This did not guarantee salvation. Paul wrote he too had to run the race: "I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (I Cor. 9:27).

• Christ saved us "by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:4).

• This Scripture does not deal with the preceding step of repentance and believing. It does not say the unbeliever could not come through reading the Word and through his own intellectual reasoning see who Jesus is and believe in Him.

• If man sinned, God was prepared to offer Christ even before He created us.

• Paul was called to set apart to be an apostle, a messenger and servant of Christ. Christ was revealed to Paul, and he accepted this call when he repented and believed.

• There is no indications others received such a special call to be a servant of Christ.

• Paul is writing to Gentiles who from the beginning were chosen to be a part of God's people.

• The term "salvation" refers to either glorification (v. 14) or "sanctify you wholly" (I Thess. 5:23), involving maturity; that is why he writes "through sanctification."

• Some ancient authorities have "chose you from the beginning as the first converts.

• Notice that Paul wrote that in the last days the "lawless one by the activity of Satan" will deceive "those who are to perish, because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved" (II Thess. 2:9, 10).

• These perish because they refuse to be saved. It is their willful choice.
• Because of their choice, "God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (vv. 11, 12).

• Salvation refers to glorification (see v. 14) or maturity (I Thess. 5:23) since it is "through sanctification."

• Their stumbling was not caused by God but because "they disobeyed the word" they stumbled.

• This is the same way as those who were hard of heart in the time of Isaiah (Isa. 6:9,10).

• God veils his truth to those who stubbornly disobey his word. "to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away" (Matt. 13:12; Amos 8:11,12).

• Because they disobeyed, "they were destined" to fall. "They who believed not the word were appointed to stumble and fall by it, not to disbelieve it.

• The participle progegrammenoi, translated "were designated," may refer to those "having been previously written about."

• See The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament.
• See Williams's translation: "Their doom was written down long ago."

• This seems preferable since following the above, Jude writes about the ungodly who met destruction in the past (vv. 5-18).

3. Atonement

Christ suffered and died so all sinners could live a new life

• Twenty-eight times the KJV states that Christ suffered for us. "Suffer" is referred to in Matthew 16:21; 17:12; Mark 8:31; 9:12; Luke 9:22; 17:25; 22:15; 24:46; Acts 3:18; 26:23; Romans 8:17; "suffered" in Luke 24:26; Acts 17:3; Hebrews 2:18; 5:8; 9:26; 13:12; I Peter 2:21, 23; 3:18; 4:1; and "suffering" in II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:10; Hebrews 2:9, 10; I Peter 1:11; 4:13; 5:1.

• The Scriptures never speak of Christ being "punished" for sins or for sinners. The terms punish and suffer have significantly different meanings. "Punish" causes one to undergo pain, loss, or suffering for a crime or wrongdoing, whereas "suffer" does not involve guilt. Since Christ was sinless, He was guiltless, and therefore when He died for us, He suffered and was not punished.

• There was a substitution of His suffering for the punishment that believers would have received, allowing the Father to forgive us. But since Christ suffered instead of being punished, the Father really could forgive those who repent and believe. If Christ was punished for us, God could not then have forgiven us. Substitutionary punishment would have satisfied justice, precluding forgiveness. One cannot both punish and forgive.

Christ died for all

• "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

• "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (II Corinthians 5:14, 15).

• "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (II Cor. 5:19).

• Jesus "gave himself a ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:6).

• "We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who believe" (I Timothy 4:10).

• "The grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men" (Titus 2:11).

• Jesus "because of suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one" (Hebrews 2:9).

• Jesus Christ "is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:2).

• Scripture teaches:
  • "For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world" (Titus 2:11, 12).

  • Jesus "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:4).
  • The fact that not all are saved and take advantage of this grace "to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world" is not God's choice but must be due to man's free choice to thrust the good news away.

There is no Limit to the Work of Christ

What About

• There are none! They are only concern human rulers.

• Related to the Medes and Persians (cf. Ezra 6:11; Est. 8:8; Dan. 6:8).

• God made decrees like laws

• "The Lord made a decree and a law for them" (Ex. 15:25 NIV), which was a "statute and an ordinance" (KJV).
• "The covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree" (I Chron. 16:17) , was "for a law" (KJV).
• "They know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death" (Rom. 1:32 NIV), was "knowing the judgment of God" (KJV) for sin (vv. 29-31).

• God did not decree eternal destinies of anyone.

4. Grace

God desires all to be saved

• There is no limit to the Holy Spirit's witness and convincing work; it goes to the whole world.

All are free to accept or resist the free gift

• God does not cause man's defilement.

• "Whoever believes" can have eternal life.

• "Any man" can know; there is no limit on the number who can.

• God reaches out to give man a free check to heaven, but man must reach out by his own will to accept or reject the gift.

What About

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5. Security

Security in Christ

• "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:5-7).

• If we walk in darkness we do not live. Only if we walk in light do we live.

• "By this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments" (2:3).

• "By this we may be sure that we are in him: he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" (2:5, 6).

• "Now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that every one who does right is born of him" (2:28-29).

• "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death" (3:14).

• "By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. . . All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them" (3:19-24).

• "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is love of God, that we keep his commandments" (5:2, 3).

• "We know that any one born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him" (5:18).

• Why does John place so much emphasis on obedience as a condition of assurance? Isn't the sinner justified by faith? Do we receive eternal life through faith or through obedience.

• The sinner is justified by faith, but the faith must be of the type that produces obedience. If the sinner claims to have faith but has not repented and has not been born anew, his "faith" is dead and will not save him. Faith must be followed by repentance and the new birth, both of which produce in the believer a desire to keep God's commandments. This is why John writes, "By this we may be sure we know him, if we keep his commandments" (2:3). If we keep His commandments, we must have repented and received the new birth, and thus are assured that we have a live faith that saves.

Warnings about Falling Away

• Later "Satan entered into him[Judas]" (13:27)

• "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you. . . . Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so many things in vain?" (3:1)

• "How can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits, whose slaves you want to be once more?" (4:9, 10).

• "What has become of the satisfaction you felt?" (4:15).

• "Do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh." He then describes "the works of the flesh," which is followed by a warning: "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:16, 17, 21).

• It is clear from the above, the Galatian Christian could fall away, and Paul warned of the consequence--"shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

The writer of Hebrews gives several warnings

• "We must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Heb. 2:1). No one will escape but will face judgment.

• "Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end" (Heb. 3:12-14.).

• "Let us hold fast our confession" (Heb. 4:14).

• "For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt" (Heb. 6:4-6).

• Clearly the person was a Christian; he repented, was enlightened, tasted heavenly gifts, partook of the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the word and powers, and committed apostasy, i.e., abandoned what was once believed. The fallen one has no hope.

• Note that the person was sanctified, had the Spirit of grace, and then rejected the Son; he fell.

• Note the punishment: judgment and fire.

• or "turn away from him that speaketh" (KJV) and "reject him" implies apostasy and rejection of Christ.

• "much less shall we escape." There will be no escaping God's judgment if we turn back.

Other warnings:

• Paul was concerned that continued congregation punishment of the repentant member was enough less it "overwhelm" him and cause his downfall.

• If after escaping the effect of sin through our Lord, one is entangled and overpowered by sin, the last state is worse than the first state when one was without Christ.

Exhortation to endure, remain faithful

• "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 10:22; cf. 24:13; Mark 13:13).

• Jesus spoke about those who had "no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away" (Mark 4:17).

• "If we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us" (II Tim. 2:11).

• "For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised" (Heb. 10:36).

• "Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him" (Jas. 1:12).

• "When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose" (Acts 11:23).

• "And when the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God" (13:43).

• "Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith" (14:22a).
• "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5:4).
  • These exhortations show it is possible to fall.

What About

• This slogan is popular among some, but it is not Scripture.

• Another slogan without Scripture backing.

• How does one have "eternal life"?

• "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

• Read also John 3:15, 36; 4:14; 5:24; 6:27-29, 40, 47, 54, 68; 10:27-28; 12:25-26, 50; 17:2, 3.

• Eternal life comes through believing in Jesus Christ. If one loses his belief or faith, there is no eternal life.

• The Christian must follow Christ:
  • Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28).

  • The sheep, those who follow Christ, have eternal life.

  • If a person drops back and quits following Christ, he will lose eternal life. This fall can only be the result of his own action. No one else can cause it to happen.

• What is "eternal life"?

• It is more than endless existence--man was immortal, that is, had endless existence from creation, whether saved or lost.

• Eternal life must then be a quaility of life issuing from God. It is a spiritual life with a dynamic participation in the very love of God and "being born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5) that makes human life complete.
  • "Water" is being sprinkle[d] with "clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses" and Spirit means "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and will cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to observe my ordinances" (Ezek. 36:24-27).

  • Jesus makes this allusion to this Old Testament prophecy; it is implied in Jesus' later statement to Nicodemis: He, "a teacher of Israel," should understood these words (John 3:10).

  • Paul writes of this: "According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. 3:5).

  • and "He [Christ] might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:26, 27).

• Eternal life comes from abiding in Christ and union with Him.
  • "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. . . . [he] will live because of me. . . . he who eats this bread will live for ever" (John 6:56-57).

  • One must remaining abiding in Christ in union with Him to have eternal life.
  • We must know Christ and His words to have eternal life.
    • "Lord . . . You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69).

    • To move from Christ and no longer know Him, is to no longer have eternal life.

• Let us make a closing point. Why is it important to realize you can lose your salvation because of your own careless drifting away from Christ?
  • Because not realizing this, one may get careless, drift, and fall from grace.

  • And because it could cause a Christian, when seeing another fall away, not help the person to regain his position in Christ since he may think, "Well, he is not one of us elect; therefore it is useless to try to help him see his condition and repent."

© Copyright 1998 by Leland M. Haines, Northville, Michigan, USA. All rights reserved.

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